23 Dead After Al-Qaeda Storms West African Hotel: "It Was Like A Scene From A Movie"
Back in September, we brought you “Meanwhile, In Burkina Faso: Images From A West African Military Coup.”
In it, we documented renewed turmoil in the landlocked country which is Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer.
In October of 2014, President Blaise Compaoré stepped down after nearly three decades as President. On Thursday, October 30 of that year, Compaoré sought to pass legislation that would have paved the way for a new 5-year term. Here's how WSJ describes what happened next: "That ambition was thwarted by tens of thousands of his compatriots, who swarmed the streets of the capital Ouagadougou. They set fire to the parliament building where the vote had been scheduled to take place, among other government offices. They tore through hotels and shops seen as pro-regime. Up to 30 people were killed in rioting."
Ultimately, Compaoré abdicated.
J'ai quitté le Pouvoir parce que l'intérêt supérieur du Burkina Faso passe au dessus de tout y compris de ma personne.
— Blaise Compaore (@PF_Compaore) October 31, 2014
Eleven months later, the country was set to hold free elections, an event that would have marked a turning point for Burkina Faso's burgeoning democracy. Instead, General Gilbert Diendere (a former chief military adviser for Compaoré) seized power in a military coup. The move coincided with a government committee's decision to disband the presidential guard, an elite group of Compaoré loyalists.
The locals were not happy.
A week later, Diendere pulled a "just kidding" and returned power to interim president Michel Kafando whom the presidential elite had arrested during the coup.
"It was a mistake," Diendere said of the decision to seize power. "We knew the people were not in favour of it. That is why we have given up," he added.
Two months later, Burkina Faso witnessed its first democratic power change in five-and-a-half decades when the country elected Roch Marc Christian Kabore president.
Fast forward to Friday and it's still readily apparent that the security situation in Burkina Faso remains precarious. In a seige that marked the second attack on a hotel in a West African capital since November, al-Qaeda militants stormed the "Splendid" Hotel in Ouagadougou.
Nearly two dozen were killed in the assault and the three gunmen - members of AQIM or, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - initially took some 126 people hostage. The militants also conducted "operations" at the nearby Restaurant Cappuccino where ten bodies were found in the wake of the chaos.
Here are some images from the scene where some folks set things on fire:
Ultimately, security forces aided by French SpecOps stormed the Splendid, killed the three gunmen - described by Burkina Faso's security minister as "an Arab and three black Africans - and freed the hostages, 33 of which were injured. "Clashes ended after a period of sustained gunfire and explosions that appeared to focus on the Restaurant Cappuccino early on Saturday," a witness told Reuters. "The Splendid Hotel is popular with Westerners and French soldiers based in Burkina Faso." One hostage said the attackers were targeting "white people."
The operation was reportedly held up by a series of booby traps. "What's making our job more difficult is that they've rigged the access to the upper floors," a Burkinabe officer, said on Saturday. Here's an account from The Telegraph:
Gunfire ramped up early on Saturday morning as gendarme and military forces fought to take back the building which had been blackened by a fire during the assault.
The security forces took control of the Splendid Hotel and were searching nearby hotels to be sure no other extremists were hiding. The search
continued even after security forces found and killed a fourth extremist at the Hotel Yibi, the president said.
Cars and motorbikes were burned, and overturned chairs and shards of glass lay scattered near the hotel. Onlookers were kept far away from the fighting that continued into daylight.
The harrowing attack was launched by the same extremists behind a similar siege at an upscale hotel in Bamako, Mali in November that left 20 dead.
Dozens of French forces arrived overnight from neighbouring Mali to aid in the rescue. One U.S. military member was embedded with French forces at the scene, and the United States was working to help provide France with surveillance and reconnaissance help, according to a U.S. senior defence official.
"French special forces helped Burkina Faso’s army in the operation," Bloomberg adds, noting that "among the victims were people from 18 countries." The militant death toll is now up to four. "Four of the militants, including two women, are dead." You're reminded that Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is led by a one-eyed former Algerian soldier named Mokhtar Belmokhtar.
Here's Bloomberg again, with some context for Friday's attack
The attack showed al-Qaeda’s growing ability to strike far from its traditional field of operations in northern Mali where it’s been fighting government troops, French soldiers and United Nations peacekeepers, backed by U.S. intelligence officials and special forces. President Francois Hollande has sent soldiers and fighter planes to former French colonies in Africa to repel the Islamists, whose attacks intensified in the semi-arid Sahel region with arms looted from Libya following the collapse of Muammar Qaddafi’s government in 2011.
The latest attack came a day after al-Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia claimed to have killed 63 Kenyan soldiers in the southwest of the Horn of Africa country and two days after Islamic State said it carried out a gun-and-suicide bomb assault in central Jakarta, Indonesia.
As they did when they attacked the Radisson Blu in Mali, the militants said their latest raid was done in response to French intervention in the region that has led to the death of Muslims, according to a statement it sent to Mauritania’s al-Akhbar newspaper on Friday. AQIM disavowed Islamic State last week, saying the group’s caliphate in Syria is illegal and strays from the tenets of Islam.
“We killed 30 of the crusaders,” one of the attackers in Ouagadougou said in a recorded message sent to the newspaper. Al-Qaeda “will fight against France until the last drop of blood.”
That of course suggests that France will continue to a be a top target for jihadists whether they swear allegiance to Ayman al Zawahiri or Bakr al-Baghdadi. Indeed, France might well become a kind of proving ground where al-Qaeda and ISIS battle for jihadist supremacy in a kind of perpetual terror one-upmanship.
As for Burkina Faso, the attack came at a rather inauspicious time. Here's Cynthia Ohayon, Burkina Faso analyst for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group:
“The new government was appointed three days ago; the president took office two weeks ago. There was a wave of optimism and this attack has dealt a huge blow to that."
We close with two eyewitness accounts.
* * *
Via BBC
Edward Bunker, an American health worker for an NGO, was staying at the hotel. He spent the night hunkered down in his room and was rescued in the early hours of Saturday morning:
"At about 19:30 on Friday the fire alarm went off. I went out of the room and saw other guests milling about, and no one seemed to be really concerned. So I went back to my room to get ready to leave for the airport.
I went downstairs to settle the bill around 20:30 and it was like a scene out of a movie with smoke, gunfire noise, explosions - but all outside of the walls. And a very, very empty and dark lobby.
I saw someone carrying a gun just outside the hotel and a burning car across the street. and that was my 'oh sh**' moment. I hid near the pool for about five minutes and figured I might just want to plan to spend the night down there.
Some cooks and kitchen staff walked by, and I made some inquires as best as I could in French. They said I should go back to my room. That was probably the best piece of advice I got that night.
I turned on the news to see what was happening.
I ended up spending the night in my bathroom with my computer and - luckily - a good wifi connection. I was able to get in touch with family and friends and crucially also a security consultant from my organisation as well as the US embassy.
It was amazing how quickly the night passed and I was thankful to have the internet for the whole time. In fact, it was a great distraction to catch up on emails and pretend it was a normal working day.
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I guess that would count as a strong anti-incumbent action.
Alqaida makes a third party bid for the nomination.
African politics. Vibrant and muscular.
Such bullsheite, Amerikkkan paid terrorists
Amerikkkan paid resolution
Wrap Up of the Jakarta Attacks: Traffic Hut Targeted:
http://winteractionables.com/?p=29839
Translated for the sheeple: "Our JV team had shown tremendous improvement and maturity. This is a hogh-performing team that leaves everything on the field."
Remember, Jewberg's meme is Al Qaeda, directly funded by Saudi Arabia, is more civilized than ISIL.
Heh. The rancid hatred for black people on this site is strong enough to even manage to drown out the hatred for civilian-targetting terrorists. Hey dumbfucks, first of all, Africa blacks are not interchangable 1:1 with the ghetto welfare trash you all love to hate. Second of all, people are basically the same everywhere - they want to exercise their skills; get laid; and have a good beer at the end of the day. How able they are to express those innate desires is mostly a matter of government.
All people are the same???
Name one thriving civilization built by negros?
Name one great scientific advancement.
Dr. Charles Drew - discovered blood typing which saved countless soldiers on the battlefield and people in everyday life.
George Washingto Carver- chemist, agriculturalist, advised Mahatma Ghandi on nutrition. Discovered many uses for peanuts and sweetpotatos beyond just food.
There's two for scientific advancements.
Now don't get me wrong. I don't want another nigger president and I don't want one even thinking about touching my daughter.
Dr. Charles Drew - not a bad discovery...but...looking at his photo it looks like he has more white than black in him.
As far as Carver advising Ghandi on nutrition. ....have you seen pictures of Ghandi?
I have to give you props for that post, Buster. Good for you making that note of African American achievements.
Name one thriving civilization built by negros?
Carthage, for one. Here's a link to 4 more:
http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/06/26/5-ancient-african-empires-besides...
@ eg, nice links. I always liked Timbuktu, http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/world-heritage/timbuktu/
Carthage was built in Africa, but was not populated by blacks (at least not politically, economically and socially dominated by blacks - Carthage was a Phoenician [Semitic people] ). I like the wording of buddy above, "rancid". We have much to bitch about in regards to the goings on on this planet, but falling in to blanket racisim and painting all people with the same brush stifles reasoned debate and shuts down libertarian thinking.
Racism = collectivism
don't ever forget that.
Collectivism = fascism/communism
I suspect many of our rancid racists are in fact .gov employees to dominate and putrefy quality questions and discussions on this site. People should be judged, individually, on their actions.
And ... Barking Cat, check your assumptions. What's so great about this globalized Western wreck of a civilization we are living in? I try to stay as far away as possible. As a result, I live well and happy with wonderful people.
Ever heard of the Moors? You might think your relatives, the Morons, are the Moors. But actually they were Africans from the Morocco region that conquered much of Europe. But never mind. Don't want to tax that impressive intellect of yours. LOL.
Afro blacks aren't anything like USA blacks...afro blacks don't have much choice between the dictators that are chosen for them... USA blacks ate just to fucking dumb and lazy to actually do something about it...livin in the hood and pissing about being oppressed rather than actually take care of their families.
That said, afro blacks are still just as fucking tribal now as they were millennias ago...every fucking war is some tribal bullshit. If they'd get their shit together they'd be a force, but that's the problem with low IQ people, they can't ever quite get beyond that hump.
I don't get it. Somehow you totally missed the black African's incredible record of technological achievements, such as their ultra cutting-edge space program. Oh wait...
Who gives a fuck about your ultra cutting-edge space program you freakin' zombie cheerleader? How is that making life better for you and yours? Let me guess - Tang? You like that fake orange juice stuff, Tang?
Equatorial Africa is a tropical place where food grows in abundance. People can afford to be laid back and work on other things, like enjoying life. Europe is derived from a scarcity culture where you have to get organized to survive, because if you did not, you would starve in the winter. Hence stuff like the Protestant work ethic. See the difference?
My black friends are all successful. But then, so am I. Ahem.
If you're really that stupid, there are some really great real estate deals in detroit. Be sure to update us on how it's going.
Update…Live in Detroit ‘burbs. You are too late…Obama gave all the vacant real estate away with his 1% down Fanny and Freddie specials. Any real estate that did not sell is now packed with refugee families.
Your sister's calling. She wants a paternity test.
TROLL ALERT!! WOOT! WOOT!!
This guy got all these responses with one idiotic post.
Don't you guys KNOW when you're being trolled?
Like all gangs, these fanatics are loyal to the cause and will not be stopped by diplomatic means.
The world is at a cross roads and when law and order totally breaks down, it will be the gangs who take control....get ready!
http://beforeitsnews.com/global-unrest/2015/12/gangs-in-london-can-you-g...
Ghetto welfare trash...proudly created by liberals and democrats.
sometimes you liberal/conservative quacks are just assholes.
these are our guys right? we should cheer for them? usa! usa! usa!
Let me get this straight. The French soldiers are down somewhere in Africa while France gets run over by Muslims. Yeah....makes sense to me. I just watched a video where ISIS let a reporter film the new weapons they are making to send to Europe to shoot down passenger planes and to remote control cars to be used as bombs. Did the French aristocracy go to school in the US?
Bare Naked Socialist Multi-Culturists .... have no clothes ?
Ordinary bush niggers .... don't stand a chance with .... Islamic sand niggers ?
Burkina Faso .... love that name .... name creativity .... one of the few things .... I actually like .... about niggers ?
ABUSE OF ELLIPSES IS A CRIME!
No more weekend holidays in Burkina Faso!
So were they the moderate ones?
My condolences to all the actual victims and families at this event in this country. Conditional, just in case this event didn't happen as advertised or at all. The phrase "it was like a scene from a movie" seems to come up quite often in interviews with U.S. alleged shooting victims or interviewees too.
In any event the calling card is clear in the story.
THe constant screams of "False Flag" on this site are ridiculous. AlphaHammer is 100% CORRECT when he says that many of the reader posts on ZeroHedge are the REAL false flags ... deliberate confusion sent by people in Russia and Iran. Putin has an active disinformation program operating against the USA ... some reader posts on this site are coming from Russian sites.
You and your alter ego "alphahammer" should get a room.
What happened in Burkina Faso was tragic - but typical of Africa. Africa can never get its act together. No matter how many warnings they have - real terrorist incidents that affected other African countries - the corrupt governments in Africa are never prepared for sudden attacks. Sheer corruption and laziness. A lot of those countries are sitting ducks for terrorists. I doubt that they will ever get Al Qaeda and ISIS out of Africa. Most likely the other way around ... Africa will become the ultimate breeding ground for these groups.
Gold is just a "barbaric relic" More guns less butter... yea Swift and Visa... Just peace keepers keeping us free from Terrorist.. Nice job Hitlery and neo-cons on Regional Fallout, Destabilization, Rise Of Terrorism From “Hitlary’s neo_con War” In Libya
https://www.corbettreport.com/chinas-swift-alternative-and-the-engineere...
“In truth, the gold standard is already a barbarous relic. All of us, from the Governor of the Bank of England downwards, are now primarily interested in preserving the stability of business, prices and employment, and are not likely, when the choice is forced on us, deliberately to sacrifice these to outworn dogma, which had its value once, of 3 pounds, 17 shillings, 10 1/2 pence per ounce. Advocates of the ancient standard do not observe how remote it now is from the spirit and the requirements of the age.” A Tract on Monetary Reform, 1924
Keynes
we SAFE Yet Al_CIA_Duh has lost faith in everything on the Butter side of the bankersters baloney sandwich.
Really counting on remaining willfully ignorant.
USSA USSA USSA
"Sweet Caroline" "Sweet Caroline" "Sweet Caroline" "Sweet Caroline"
Apparently according to this report (western?) we have a people's revolt....Where have I heard that one before...perhaps in Libya or conversely Yemen et ceteras. Mali recently had a terrorists attack on a western owned hotel and surprizingly the first people killed in the assault were top Chinese rail executives and top Russian commercial air cartage executives, nine executives in total. Africa, just as in Orwell's 1984 is becoming a battle ground between Asia and Oceania with the EU walking the line as much as possible between the two as foolish as that seems.
Edward Bunker has absolutely NO instinct for self preservation.
"Like a scene out of a movie" - That phrase bothers me. One thing I slowly came to realize after not going to a movie theater or having television for almost 12 years now, is that watching TV and movies trains you to be a helpless observer during severe psychologically stimulating events. I believe it is the very reason everyone stands by idly when random violence or other abuses happen in public. I purposely avoid anyone who admits to watching TV.
Two interesting theories, Iran Riverine Boat Incident:
Set-Up: Obama Coordinated Iran Hostage Release for SOTU; Riverine Capture Scuttles?
Set-up? Navy Boat Capture with Woman Sailor (Iran); Final Decision Now About Women in Combat Roles
ISIS fears Israel
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Journalist-ISIS-Israel-Fear/2015/12/29/...
Why? They have effective tactics against jihadis.
ISIS works for Israel.
Look it up.
A few bad apples ALWAYS wreck it for the rest, Soon we will all have no freedom, because of a few Jihadi's.
How many more of these attacks around the world will it take before they stop the immigration of these jihadist's to western countries.
Unless of course this is the plan for the western .gov's to solve the lack of youth/population to fund the countries debts and .gov pension plans.
Maybe we should start a website with the addresses of the .gov officials that are not treating the muzzies properly /s
"It was like a scene from a movie."
"Africa's fourth largest gold producer."
That's all we need to know on ZeroHedge.
The Think Tank I work advised several African nations from as long ago as 2008, not to accept Africom and Western NGO's like NED et al, as they are merely staging posts, for subversion, classic neo-colonial exploitation, in order to foster divide and post rule tactics and post Gadaffi, it was obvious Africa would be the recipient of mindless Islamic terrorism unleashed by yours truly the USSA & Co. Did they listen? Did they fuck. It was staggering beyond scope despite history, how many Africans in politics believed The West had their best interests at heart.
The Crusades were a pathetically disorganized and underfunded attempt by Christians to RECLAIM Byzantine territories which Islamist Jihadis had captured within (at the time of the First Crusade) living memory (in a time when life was damned short, too). If the Arabs can't get over a short string of minor and limited defeats in their wars of conquest that ended five centuries ago, they are incapable of participating in any civilized society.
Let me stress again, IN THEIR WARS OF CONQUEST. The Crusades were a pissed-poor attempt to win back what the Arabs had stolen from somebody who had held onto it for about 700 years previously. They FAILED. And they ended 500 years ago. If the Arabs are still looking for revenge for a short period of active DEFENSE against their attacks, they are so lacking in the ability to get along with others that there is no room for them on an overcrowded planet.
Just kill the bastards. All of the males. Since they allow no power or independence for females, make sure that the females are forced to marry non-Muslims by the lack of Muslim males. Oh, and burn all the hard-copy Korans (a written Koran isn't really a Koran anyway, since it's supposed to be entirely oral). Keep a few texts electronically for the use of scholars, so that they can parse out exactly what makes it such a sociopathic ideology and ban anything that makes the same mistakes.
I know genocide is supposed to be uncivilized, too. But sometimes, it's the only way to solve the problem. Re-education camps don't work on religious fanatics. It's been tried.